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A Century of Lawmaking for a New Nation: U.S. Congressional Documents and Debates, 1774-1875
Journal of the Confederate Congress --FIFTY-SIXTH DAY--WEDNESDAY, January 29, 1862.
OPEN SESSION.
Congress met pursuant to adjournment, and was opened with prayer by the Rev. Mr. Butler.
Congress then resolved itself into secret session.
SECRET SESSION.
Congress being in secret session,
Mr. Garland presented the memorial of H. R. Austin; which was referred to the Committee on Military Affairs, without being read.
Mr. Morton moved that the President be authorized to appoint three additional members to the Committee on Flag and Seal of the Confederacy.
The motion was agreed to.
And the Chair announced the following as the additional members of that committee, viz:
Messrs. Boteler of Virginia, Curry of Alabama, and Jones of Tennessee.
Mr. T. R. R. Cobb introduced
A bill to prescribe a uniform law of naturalization;
which was read first and second times.
Mr. Smith of Alabama moved that the bill be placed on the Calendar and printed.
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Mr. Conrad moved that it be referred to the Committee on the judiciary.
The motion was agreed to
Mr. Monroe offered
A resolution to inquire of the propriety of providing by law for the retaliation of ignominious punishment unjustly inflicted upon the citizens of the Confederate States by the judgments of the Federal Government and of the States thereof, and their military and other officers;
which was read and referred to the Committee on the Judiciary.
Mr. Brooke moved to reconsider the vote on the passage of
A resolution authorizing the Attorney-General to correct a clerical error in the engrossment of a bill to amend an act to establish a patent office, etc.
The motion to reconsider prevailed.
Mr. Brooke then moved to reconsider the vote by which the Congress ordered the said resolution to be engrossed for a third reading.
The motion prevailed.
Mr. Brooke, by unanimous consent, withdrew said resolution and introduced
A bill to explain an act entitled "An act to amend an act entitled 'An act to establish a patent office, and to provide for the granting and issue of patents for new and useful discoveries, inventions, and designs' approved May twenty-first, eighteen hundred and sixty-one;" which was read first and second times, engrossed, read a third time, and passed.
Mr. Brooke introduced the following resolution; which was read and laid on the table, to wit:
Resolved, That the Secretary of the Treasury be requested to communicate to this body if not incompatible with the public interest) the quantity and quality of cotton obtained by him for the use of the Confederate States; whether the same was purchased with the bonds or Treasury notes of thin Government, and at what price; also whether said cotton has been disposed of, and in what manner, at what place, and at what price; also whether it will be necessary to make any further purchases; and, if so, to what amount.
Mr. Davidson offered
A resolution instructing the Committee on Finance to report a bill for the benefit of deputy marshals;
which was read and agreed to.
Mr. Boyce offered
A resolution instructing the Committee on Military Affairs to inquire as to the expediency of so amending the law as to permit soldiers to draw waterproof overcoats in lieu of some other articles of clothing now allowed them;
which was read and agreed to.
Mr. Staples offered
A resolution instructing the Committee on Finance to inquire into the expediency of reporting a bill authorizing an exchange of Confederate honers for bonds of the State of Virginia to the amount of $1,000,000, said Confederate bonds to be appropriated to the completion of the Covington and Ohio Railroad lying west of the town of Covington;
which was read and agreed to.
Mr. T. R. R. Cobb, by general consent, introduced
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A bill to repeal so much of the laws of the United States adopted by the Congress of the Confederate States as authorize the naturalization of aliens;
which was read first and second times, engrossed, read a third time, and passed.
Mr. Waul, from the special committee appointed to examine into the Quartermaster, Commissary, and Medical Departments, made a report; which was laid on the table and ordered to be printed, and is as follows, to wit:
REPORT.
The committee appointed under the resolution of Congress "to inquire into the organization and administration of the Medical, Commissary, and Quartermaster's Departments, and to report what changes in the laws and regulations are necessary and proper," beg leave to report that after the passage of the resolution they called upon the Secretary of War and obtained his zealous cooperation, and provided with letters from him, they visited the departments referred to, the principal army corps and posts, hospitals, and depots, every facility being afforded them by the officers in charge for the favorable prosecution of their inquiries.
The resolution comprises all that relates to the supply and transportation of troops in the field or in camp or that tends to promote the health and comfort of the soldier; it embraces the administration of the civil polity of the Army as distinguished from its command.
The labors of these departments penetrate the entire military establishment, breathe life into the Army, nurture its growth, give it strength and efficiency in the field, maintaining its health, and facilitating its movements. Vigilant, prepared, and present, it moves unnoticed amid the stirring events of the field, and, obscured by the dust and smoke of the combat, it remains unobserved even while collecting the fruits of victory.
To insure success in a military enterprise its civil administration should be harmonious with and subordinate to its command. The inefficiency of a quartermaster or commissary may effectually check the progress of an army, and the demands of an officer may destroy the most perfect administration through his inability to comprehend the difficulties or even the facilities for procuring subsistence or transportation.
That the immense army now in the service of the Confederacy, suddenly collected, men and officers generally inexperienced in camp life and military duty, should be clothed, fed, armed, and moved with the facility of a permanent organization, was not to be expected, and in guarding against abuses or suggesting changes, it is with a view to present emergencies, temporary in their character, rather than to subvert a system of regulations, simple in their construction, yet comprehensive enough when properly administered to achieve the objects intended.
QUARTERMASTER'S DEPARTMENT.
The Quartermaster's Department is expected to give effect to the movements and operations of the Army, prepare quarters, hospitals, camp and garrison equipage, transportation, and all military stores, provisions, ordnance and ordnance stores; furnish storage for all military supplies; provide fuel, forage, and straw; supply blankets, shoes, and clothing; procure cavalry and artillery horses; purchase and have the custody of all horses, mules, and oxen, harness, wagons, carts, boats, and other means of transportation; contract for and regulate the transportation of troops and supplies upon railroads and steamboats. It is responsible for the prompt and safe transmission of all supplies; for the payment of the troops when in service or discharged, and in general contract and pay for such services as are not specially designated in the duties of any other department.
The committee was greatly assisted in its investigations by the system of entries and analysis of estimates and disbursements in the office of the Quartermaster-General at Richmond, by which it is enabled to determine not only the supplies and transportation on hand and where located, but also the exact state of the account of every officer attached to that Department throughout the Army.
These returns and entries show that clothing, camp and garrison equipage are accumulated at depots situated in Richmond, New Orleans, Memphis, Charleston, Savannah, Columbus (Georgia), Montgomery, Staunton, San Antonio, and Fort Smith, to be distributed upon requisition to the troops in their vicinity. These supplies, together with shoes and blankets, are on hand or have been distributed in such quantities as, with the aid given by the contributions of States and individuals,
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to place our troops beyond the danger of suffering during the present winter; while the experience of the past, the knowledge of the resources of the country, and the power to husband, systematize, and render them available furnishes an encouraging prospect for the future.
Clothing and commutation.
It is the duty of the Confederacy to have the Army well clothed, and to attain this end no commutation in money should be allowed until it appears that the volunteer has a supply of clothing at least equal to the amount allowed by the regulations.
If furnished from private resources with the principal articles, the commutation money due might be paid to the captains to be expended, first, in procuring such articles as are necessary to make up the deficiency, and the balance given to the volunteer.
Depots for supplies.
The number and extent of the depots for arms, ordnance, clothing, and stores for the consumption of the Army should be greatly increased and established at secure places near the fields of operation.
Railroad transportation.
The amount of transportation required demands that every legitimate means should be used to increase the capacity of that branch of the service, and for this purpose the committee recommend that military control be taken of the principal railroad routes terminating at or passing through Richmond, Nashville, Memphis, Atlanta, and all routes leading to the headquarters of our several army corps, which should be placed under the direction of an efficient superintendent, free from local interests, investments in, or connection with special railroads.
Great delay, inconvenience, and expense is caused by the numerous unconnected tracks which, if joined by links, short in distance, would not only increase the facilities for transportation and the capacity of the roads, but would save much time, labor, and expense in transferring troops and freight.
There is a deficiency of rolling stock on the most used and important railways and branches, which could be remedied under a proper administration and distribution of stock taken from roads where there is a superabundance and adding where deficient, thus equalizing the supply throughout the Confederacy. Wherever desirable for the public defense, the same stock should pass over the longest available route, and when the width of the grades [gauges] differs the roads should approach to proximity until a change of width would permit the connection to be perfected. With proper management the capacity of the principal routes can be increased to six trains each way per day with an average speed of 10 miles an hour, while the present transportation is not above two trains a day, and the rate of speed not more than 6 miles an hour.
Wagon transportation.
The committee are satisfied that the wagon transportation is inadequate, and if the Army was furnished with the full amount allowed by the present regulations, it would still be insufficient. Our volunteers arrive in the service unused to camp life, incumbered by an allowance of clothing hardly sufficient for their need, yet beyond the amount allowed by regulations; overtaken by disease, and with conveniences, though scanty, yet forbidden by the frugality and thrift suited to the educated soldier; when a movement is made, the line of march may be traced by the cheap comforts and extra blankets cast aside, to be deeply regretted by the soldier at his next camping ground. From causes like these, much suffering has been endured by our troops in exposed situations, especially in Western Virginia, where the transportation was barely sufficient to keep subsistence enough for the daily ration while on the march from Jackson Run to Sewell Mountain.
The amount and necessity for accumulated transportation has been greatly increased by permitting the Army to feed and forage upon the neighborhood where stationed, each succeeding day widening the circle, which it exhausts, and to the same extent protracting the distance for transportation, in addition to destroying the source of supply by taking from the country its present subsistence and its means for furnishing another crop. This system enhances the price of all products to the Army, and the inhabitants, until, forced to abandon their residences, they emigrate in pursuit of cheap food, and leave their homes depopulated.
By adopting a different policy, with the judicious use of railways to penetrate the productive regions, and by the aid of wagon transportation, connecting with the neighboring granaries, the supply might be rendered regular, cheap, and of better quality.
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Hospitals and stations.
Connected with and auxiliary to this subject, the committee advise that hospitals and stations for the wounded, sick, and convalescent should be provided at a distance from the camps or crowded cities, wherever pure air, good water, and an abundance of food would recommend them; leaving for the use of the able, active soldier a large quantity of food and transportation, and removing from the Army an incubus which, with its limited transportation, renders rapid movement impracticable.
Transport trains.
Transportation being the motive power of the Army, without it the most thoroughly organized and disciplined corps is useless and its services unavailable. To be efficient it should be systematized and trained to a performance of its duties. Competent wagon masters should be selected, and an enlisted or hired number of teamsters engaged, who, by their skill, attention, and adaptation to this service, would faithfully perform their obligations.
The custom of detailing volunteers for this service is fraught with trouble; horses, harness, and wagons are neglected until a movement is required, when the death, disease, or starved condition of the horses, the loss of harness, and breakage of wagons render it impossible, or its performance so defective that suffering to the sick, loss of baggage to the well, and discomfiture to the designs best arranged and matured are the probable results.
Payment of troops and creditors.
Admitting the efficiency of the Quartermaster's Department, as at present constituted, for a peace establishment, to be equal to the duties with which it is charged, it would be relieved of much of the embarrassment and complication caused by the magnitude of the present war, should a separate pay department be established.
Some discontent has arisen among the troops from a failure to pay them with regularity, particularly at posts and places distant from headquarters or the homes of the volunteers. To detail an instructed and experienced quartermaster from headquarters for this service would frequently leave a post or important position unsupplied and the necessary routine neglected, and to send an officer new to the service and unacquainted with its duties would result in injury to the department, ruin to the officer, or loss to the soldier.
Punctuality is important in all the dealings of Government; it is particularly so with its Army.
The troops should be paid every two months, and to insure its punctuality the pay rolls should be prepared after each muster, under the superintendence of an inspector, and handed over to the officers of the Pay Department for payment.
The system in force in the United States Army might be adopted by adding thereto paymasters with the rank of captain, requiring the senior paymaster in each district to make an estimate and receive funds for the whole of his district, upon estimates made by the regimental quartermasters, who might pay their regiments from the funds received for that purpose from the district paymaster, leaving the field and staff of the divisions and brigades and other floating accounts to be settled by the district paymaster.
The quartermasters unattached to regiments, and acting as pay officers, might be transferred to the Pay Department, and by their experience facilitate the adjustment of accounts and payments of troops at points where there are no regiments, the sick at general hospitals, and discharged soldiers. The need of this supervising power has caused large amounts of money to be twice paid to soldiers discharged for debility, necessity requiring, in many cases, payment to be made upon the statement of the soldier himself. Some dissatisfaction has been manifested by the creditors of this and the Subsistence Department, from the want of punctuality in settling the debts contracted to be paid at the specified time; and this uncertainty of payment has caused exactions to be made and prices demanded of the Government officers greatly above the market rate, particularly at places distant from the capital, where credit is all important. This has been aggravated by the difficulty in preparing Treasury notes, the absence of facilities for transferring the funds, the trouble and responsibility of transmission, as well as the more pressing emergencies or urgent solicitations of claimants more convenient to headquarters.
SUBSISTENCE DEPARTMENT.
To maintain an abundant and regular supply of provisions for the soldier is the paramount duty of the Commissary of Subsistence, and to it everything else must be subordinate. To economize the public money and to justify expenditure and disbursement
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by well-authenticated accounts are important considerations, but even these must yield to the one great object of military administration--to keep the soldier in fighting condition at all times and under all circumstances.
Without system in the administration of this department, the most fertile genius would prove powerless, and the most abundant resources insufficient; yet so varying are the circumstances attending active warfare, so much influenced by the character of the operations, the resources and extent of the country, the disposition of the population, the confidence and credit in the Government, that far more reliance must be placed upon the intelligence, the ability, and the zeal of the commissary than upon any system established for general guidance. It is in availing himself of every expedient, in seizing every opportunity, in guarding against all risks, and providing for all contingencies that the highest qualities of a good officer are put to the test. He must not rely on rumors or trust to probabilities; he must depend upon his own judgment and energy, and, by exerting all his foresight, skill, and decision, anticipate the want of the troops in whatever position they may be placed.
The machinery, perfectly adapted to a season of peace and a country replete with resources, would entirely fail, during a state of war, with the ordinary source of supply stopped or diminished.
The returns of this department show that although its chief supply has been obtained within the Confederacy, heretofore considered insufficient to support its population, with an untiring, vigilant, and remorseless enemy surrounding and endeavoring by every means to starve as well as subjugate, we have had our Army well fed, and with an amount on hand so large as to place us beyond the reach of want for the ensuing campaign; and trusting in a kind Providence for our usual seasons, and the preparations that are made throughout the Confederacy for the next crop, we need fear no coming want.
Purchasing agents.
To protect the department against the fluctuations and combinations of trade, which are considered legitimate and generally used against the Government, where it enters the market as an open purchaser, the Commissary-General should have power, with the approval of the Secretary of War, to select agents from able and practical business men to make purchases at distant points, and a proper discretion allowed them, without referring to the department for confirmation.
Rations and cooks.
The ration, as restricted by the regulations, is in many respects unsuited to the habit of our volunteer force. Rice and corn meal, hominy, peas, tea, milk, molasses, and vegetables (particularly potatoes and onions) should be distributed whenever they can be reasonably obtained, and substituted by a scale to be prepared by the commissary for the ordinary ration. Flour should only be given in cases of necessity, or where ovens are used by the company or regiments. Bakeries should be established for hard bread at places convenient to the different army corps. Ovens should be erected in every regiment and loaves of bread distributed, so as to avoid the unwholesome mass which constitutes the ordinary specimens of cooking by Southern soldiers. Cooks should be hired or enlisted, at least two to each company, so that well cooked, wholesome meals may be regularly served, and the cooking inspected at each meal under the direction of the officer of the day.
To insure small comforts, the committee recommend that two or three cents per day be allowed each volunteer, to be disbursed by the captain; that the ration of coffee and sugar be increased to 10 pounds of coffee and 15 pounds of sugar for 100 men; that the surplus rations be under the charge of one of the sergeants, whose duty it shall be to sell them and purchase vegetables and other food not supplied by the Government, for the benefit of the company.
Hospital rations.
The regulations provide that the rations not consumed in the hospitals shall be commuted in money and constitute a hospital fund from which articles for the sick may be obtained. Under this regulation no money has been furnished the regimental commissaries, and the sick are unprovided for or forced to use the ordinary ration of beef, bacon, and coffee. This neglect calls for an immediate remedy.
Sutlers.
The comfort of the volunteer would be consulted by a definite number of sutlers judiciously selected, properly restricted, and a tariff of priers with moderate profits adopted.
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Much information has been obtained by the committee from the Commissary Department to be submitted to Congress, but the answer of the Commissary-General to the resolution of Congress, including all that is important and in more elaborate form, the committee beg leave to refer to that communication for the routine of purchase, etc.
MEDICAL DEPARTMENT.
In relation to the Medical Department, in its organization and administration your committee report that there is, in the laws regulating that department, no want of power for its efficiency, and, except in a few particulars, no necessity for a change in the regulations which control it.
The authority of the Surgeon-General is ample in the direction of the administration of his department, and under ordinary circumstances the medical staff is perhaps sufficiently numerous; but in visiting the camps and hospitals your committee were deeply impressed with the inadequacy of the preparations and provision for the comfort of the sick soldiers, as well as the obvious causes for the unusual amount of disease prevailing amongst the troops. Much is to be ascribed to the nature of the service and the persons who compose the Army. The volunteers, when at home, were not generally accustomed to care for themselves, usually living in families who provided for their comfort and nursed them in sickness, unused to exposure and entirely unaccustomed to the preparation of their food. When, in addition to this, it is considered that the summer was unusually rainy and that a very large proportion of the men contracted the measles in the camps, it could not be otherwise than that there should be great suffering and great mortality. It is the peculiar characteristic of measles that the system is left liable to the invasion of the most formidable diseases upon exposure a short time after undergoing an attack. Fever, pneumonia, and diarrhea, the scourges of camps and armies, follow in the wake of measles where the convalescents are exposed to cold and wet, and when to this we add unsuitable diet, badly ventilated tents and hospitals there can be no surprise at the number of sick in the Army, as well as the great suffering and distress.
Your committee found in some regiments but one surgeon or assistant surgeon--sometimes a private detailed from the ranks who happened to be a physician--to whom a number of sick, too great for any one man to attend properly, [were] placed under his care. The diseases prevalent in the Army are camp fever, measles, pneumonia, diarrhea, and dysentery. All of them partook of the depressing character of the camp fever, being of a typhus tendency. In some localities the typhoid fever was found greatly aggravated in its progress by the general morbid influence of the atmosphere of the camps.
The armies on the Potomac and in Western Virginia suffered greatly; those troops in Cheat Mountain and in the vicinity of the Kanawha Valley most intensely. The wet and changeable climate, the difficulty of transportation, exposure to cold and rain without tents, the necessary consequence of the frequent forward and retrograde movements, as well as the impossibility of always obtaining suitable food for either sick or well men, produced most of the sickness and greatly aggravated it after its accession. There were no hospitals in reach of those armies, and it became necessary to subsidize all suitable buildings in reach for the use of the sick, who often accumulated so rapidly as to fill them to crowding. The rapid movements of armies hourly expecting battle created a necessity for the removal of the sick to the rear at a time when transportation was greatly in demand and at all times insufficient. Under these circumstances the sick in all stages of disease--sometimes when merely moving them must be fatal--were crowded into wagons and delivered at points where, from their unexpected numbers, there was no adequate provision either for their food or shelter, and in such cases the suffering, as well as the mortality, was greatly increased. The diseases in the Peninsula were exceedingly severe and the cases very numerous. They were usually of the miasmatic character, to which men from the upper country would be subject. These, too, were greatly aggravated by measles, which also scourged these camps. In the early part of the campaign there was a great deficiency of hospital accommodation there, but now, in Yorktown and Williamsburg, that want has been in a great measure supplied.
Whenever hospital accommodation was possible and a due regard paid by those in charge much of the suffering of the sick was avoided, especially where those hospitals were within a convenient distance and the transportation at all adequate to the gentle and merciful removal of the sick and helpless.
Your committee were impressed with several evils which, as they are clearly within the reach of remedy by the present laws, will be mentioned as those which could be obviated by a more full administration of their provisions:
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Much of the insufficiency of the medical staff is to be attributed to unavoidable evils in the mode of appointment in the sudden organization of so large an army,
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It was impossible for the head of this bureau to be thoroughly informed of the fitness of applicants for the position sought by them in the medical staff. He was necessarily dependent upon such means of information as the circumstances would allow, and depended mainly upon the recommendations of the field officers of the regiments to which the surgeons and their assistants were to be assigned. In this way many very young and inexperienced persons were recommended and appointed, and much evil resulted from their want of qualification for their duties. The older and best of the physicians of the country were not usually applicants for the places, and the selection was to be made from those who offered their services. The history of the war, up to a month or two since, has fully developed this evil, and the institution of a board of examiners, it is hoped, may afford some remedy. The service demands the best talents and the most enlarged experience, and the greatest circumspection is indispensable in assigning to such responsible duties those who seek appointments in the medical staff.
The want of medical stores is the result, in a great measure, of the existing blockade and the expense and difficulty in procuring those foreign medicines which are indispensable for the sick, and it is but just to say that great and unusually successful efforts have been made by the department in obtaining them.
The hospitals established by many of the States for the sick and wounded, and the admirable manner in which they have been conducted, demonstrates that, with the same care on the part of the Confederate Government, the condition of the sick and the prospects of recovery would be greatly improved. Hospital room and an increase of hospital surgeons and assistants are greatly needed.
In connection with the views of the committee upon the means best adapted to the preservation of the health of the Army and the restoration of the sick, they would call attention to the necessity of providing some practical, simple, and easy mode of obtaining furloughs for sick soldiers to visit their homes. The regulations requiring the certificate of the surgeon of regiments or hospitals, when the sick are far distant from their command, and the certificates of commanding officers opposing the application, is, in a large proportion of the cases, a virtual denial of the privilege. Observation proves that whenever it is possible to remove the sick in the low, depressing diseases of the camp, preying as much on the mind and spirit of the sufferer as on his body, a furlough and return to home and its associations caused speedy recoveries and return to duty. Some modifications of the law and regulations on this subject is indispensably necessary, or we may look with apprehension for the recuperation of our army by volunteers in the spring. They would recommend such legislation as would reach all cases removed from the regiments to hospitals by authorizing those in command of stations to grant furloughs or discharges, and simplify the process by which they are obtained, whilst sick, under the immediate observation of regimental authority.
The committee can not close this part of the subject without a testimonial to the kindness and patriotism of our citizens at home, manifested in their unremitting efforts to supply the wants and relieve the sufferings of the soldiers, sick and well. The supply of money, clothing, and hospital stores derived from this generous source is not only of immense value in itself, but the most cheering indication of the spirit of our people in the cause of our independence. The women of the country, with the tenderness and generosity of their sex, have not only loaded the cars with all those appliances for the comfort of the sick which their patriotic ingenuity could devise, but have also come to the rescue in clothing those who are well and bearing arms in the field. They have made large pecuniary contributions, taken charge of the hospitals established by the States, and, as matrons of those institutions, have carried cleanliness and comfort to the gallant soldier far from home and kindred. To the women of the country simple gratitude demands that public thanks be given, and a public acknowledgment of their faithfulness in the glorious work of effecting our independence.
As a part of their duty the committee visited and examined the prisons and hospitals of the prisoners in Richmond. The sick and wounded were fully cared for, and the food furnished for all was both wholesome and ample. There was no cause of complaint in the entire management. Both medical attention and the supply of necessaries for food were such as justice and humanity demanded.
Inspection and reports.
The health, comfort, and efficiency of the Army result less from defects in legislation than the proper enforcement of the regulations and a regular and thorough system of inspection.
The offices of adjutant and inspector generals, now united, have distinct and separate duties.
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The labors of the adjutant generally confine him to his desk; those of the inspector demand his active presence in the field.
The adjutant is the channel of communication in all matters relating to the discipline and organization of the Army, and these officers are constantly occupied with the details of service and in office duties.
The duties of the inspector are, by personal investigation, to learn whether the rules and regulations of the Army are properly enforced, and to report when, where, by whom, and in what manner they have been neglected.
A detail of the duties and the requirements of the reports are embraced in the following sections of the Army Regulations:
The importance and extent of these duties show that all the time, attendance, and labor of an efficient corps is necessary for their performance, with such rank as to induce respect and obtain able and energetic officers.
The separation would be less imperative in an army thoroughly organized and disciplined, but the immense number of raw recruits and uninstructed officers renders it indispensable to indoctrinate as well as to supervise.
The reports should be made to the Inspector-General at the War Department, as well as to the commander to whose staff the inspector is attached, thereby insuring the performance of the duties by the inspectors enforcing the requirements for officers to remedy defects throughout their command and bringing before the Secretary of War a knowledge of the condition of the Army.
Medical inspectors.
By the regulations the medical director is made the inspector of hospitals and required to enforce the regulations, etc. Like the adjutant, his time is so much occupied by the details of service that, in most instances, this important duty has been neglected, and the committee suggest for the consideration of Congress, if it is not due to the proper care of the sick and the protection of the well from disease, to add officers to the present medical staff, whose duties should require them to inspect and report upon the sanitary condition and police of hospitals, camps, and posts occupied by troops, and the skill and efficiency of the officers, stewards, nurses, and employees attached to this department.
All of which is respectfully submitted.
T. N. WAUL, For the Committee.
Mr. Perkins, from the Committee on Commercial and Financial Independence, to whom was referred a communication relative to a change in the weights and measures of the Confederacy, reported the following resolution; which was read and agreed to, to wit:
Resolved, That Captain Matthew F. Maury and Professors A. T. Bledsoe and F. Smith, of the University of Virginia, be, and they are hereby, appointed by Congress to draw up a system of weights and measures and coins, to be presented to the Confederate Congress for its consideration.
Mr. Barnwell, from the Committee on Finance, reported and recommended the passage of
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A bill to transfer funds from the Quartermaster's to the Ordnance Department;
which was read first and second times.
Mr. T. R. R. Cobb moved that the bill be placed on the Calendar and printed.
The motion did not prevail.
And the bill was engrossed, read a third time, and passed.
Mr. Hale, from the Committee on the Judiciary, to whom was referred the petition of H. Y. Gray, reported the same back, asked to be discharged from its further consideration, and that the petition lie on the table; which was agreed to.
Mr. Hale, from the same committee, to whom was referred a memorial relating to the completion of a railroad in Texas, reported the same back, asked to be discharged from its further consideration, and that the memorial be referred to the Committee on Military Affairs; which was agreed to.
On motion of Mr. Hale. Congress resolved itself into executive session: and having spent some time therein, again resolved itself into legislative session.
Mr. Pryor, from the Committee on Military Affairs, reported and recommended the passage of
A bill to amend an act entitled "An act for the establishment and organization of a general staff for the Army of the Confederate States of America;"
which was read first and second times.
Mr. Avery moved that the bill be placed on the Calendar and printed.
Mr. Campbell moved that the consideration of the bill be indefinitely postponed.
The motion prevailed.
Mr. Hale, from the Committee on Military Affairs, to whom was referred the petition of James P. Owen, acting assistant surgeon, reported the same back, asked to be discharged from its further consideration, and that the petition be referred to the Committee on Claims; which was agreed to.
Mr. Hale, from the same committee, reported and recommended the passage of
A bill to provide for an increase in the Quartermaster and Commissary Departments;
which was read first and second times.
Mr. Howell Cobb moved to amend by striking out all after the enacting clause and to insert in lieu thereof the following, to wit:
That the duty of paymasters in the Army shall hereafter be discharged by the brigade quartermasters.
Mr. Pryor, moved to amend by adding the following proviso, to wit:
Provided, That no quartermaster, assistant quartermaster, commissary, or assistant commissary be authorized to employ a clerk, but the, commanding officer of quartermasters, assistant quartermasters, commissaries, or assistant commissaries shall detail from the ranks under his command such person or persons as may be necessary for service in the offices of said quartermasters, assistant quartermasters, commissaries, and assistant commissaries.
Mr. Avery moved to postpone the consideration of the unfinished business, to conclude the call of the committees.
The motion did not prevail.
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Congress then proceeded to the consideration of the unfinished business; which was the consideration of the amendment of Mr. Monroe to the first section of a bill to amend the sequestration act, etc.
Mr. Orr, from the Committee on Engrossment, reported as correctly engrossed and enrolled
An act to aid the State of Kentucky, and for other purposes:
An act to amend an act entitled "An act to provide for the public defense," approved March 6, 1861; and
An act to amend an act supplemental to an act to establish the judicial courts of the Confederate States of America, approved May 21, 1861.
On motion of Mr. Seddon,
Congress then adjourned until 12 o'clock m. to-morrow.
EXECUTIVE SESSION.
Congress being in executive session,
Mr. Hale, from Committee on the Judiciary, to which had been referred the communication of the President of January 14, nominating marshals and district attorneys for the State of Tennessee, reported the same back, with the recommendation that Congress advise and consent to the same.
Mr. Jones moved to postpone the consideration of the confirmation of J. C. Ramsey as district attorney and J. H. Hale as marshall of the eastern district of Tennessee.
And also the nomination of John L. Sehon as district attorney and Jesse B. Clements as marshal for the middle district of Tennessee.
The motion prevailed.
B. M. Estes as district attorney and W. W. Gates as marshal of the western district of Tennessee were confirmed, Congress advising and consenting to the same.
Congress then resolved itself into legislative session.
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